Treasure
by dragoness100
Summary: The dragon had collected so many coins, jewels and the like over his lifetime. Just the thought of parting with one item would break his spirit...but why?


The dragon stirred and opened one teal eye. At first the auric light of his cache blinded him, until instinct made his eye membrane flick over the royal orb. But his pupil had already contracted into a slit and quickly adjusted to the gleam.  
Surrounding his great, umber-colored body were millions and millions of dollars worth in solid gold coins, which were stacked doubloon by doubloon almost to the ceiling. Some of it lay in disorganized piles distributed around the dragon's dark yet cozy cavern.

 _Just as I have left it,_ thought the drake with a smile as he slowly lifted his head up.

For decades the dragon had collected, guarded and maintained his stash of coins; each and every one held a memory.  
 _There's my six thousand, two hundred and ninety-seventh piece!_ the drake mused with delight, swinging his proud head for a closer look. The coin was smaller than the scales on his body and looked twisted, like a bottle cap that had made its first acquaintance with a bottle opener. But what struck the drake more was that it still shined brightly even after he had acquired and left it on the dusty, hard cave floor several years ago.

As he stretched his massive legs and tail not unlike a cat, the dragon hummed, _It amazes me how gold can hold onto its beauty for all these eons. If only that were true for everything else..._

Beauty; the greatest word ever invented. It made humans pause from whatever they were doing and then gave them motivation to have it. It brought them pleasure, whether from sight, touch or smell. Truly it was what made all humans envy the most of other creatures, even their own kind.

But humans were not the only ones that could perceive and understand beauty; the drake has adored it from since the time of his birth. It was what sparkled in his mother's eye that gave him happiness; ever since he has sought to find an exact replica of that gleam.  
The dragon's gaze then turned to a large, glittering cut sapphire resting on a silver pedestal nearby and grinned hugely. _Yes, my most prized possession!_ , he wondered, bringing his eye closer for a better look. The gem's deep blue brilliance had always had a hypnotic ability to hold the drake's gaze for hours at a time, like he was immersed in the dark depths of the sea.

As the dragon stared at his grand possession, a new scent from outside wafted through the cave, up and into the dragon's broad but sensitive muzzle. It was strangely familiar to him, which peeked his curiosity even further.  
Taking one last look at his stash, the dragon carefully made his way to the opening of the cave. The bright sun and clear blue sky welcomed him as the drake emerged from the cavern. He had picked out his abode with great intention; it was on the side of a grand valley, in which the entrance was dug out onto a sharp ledge that dropped to the vale below.

A gust of wind whipped up from the valley and buffeted the dragon's unfolded wings, as if begging him to take to the skies and allow the breeze to carry him up into the clouds. But his mind was more focused on the strange scent than the winds around him. The drake drew in a deep breath through his nose and drank in the odor once more.  
 _It's coming from below, down in the vale_ , he thought to himself.

The drake then leapt from the cliff and swooped down toward the vale, feeling the wind rush past his frill-like ears. Just as he was about to slam into the ground he opened his great wings and allowed the strong winds to push him up like a parachute. With another flap the dragon consciously sailed down to the forest with enough skill to have him land on the ground with a soft thud.

The forest was ancient, having already established itself many decades before the dragon arrived. Its trees towered over the drake and the canopy hid the under grown beneath. The spot where the drake touched down was an opening to the forest, a location in which he had made himself so that he would have no trouble exploring the vale. With the leaves still whispering around his body from the gust he had brought up when he landed, the dragon sniffed again.

It is fresh, barely an hour old. By now his mind had finished processing the scent and had come to a conclusion. Now he just needed visual evidence. The dragon began to carefully meander his way through the forest, hardly making a sound with his padded feet.  
Time passed quickly for the drake as he searched throughout the vale for the owner of the scent. Finally, as the afternoon sun shined above him, the dragon creased his stride. There, laying on the ground, was a silver colored creature no bigger than an elk. The drake did not need his sense of smell to determine the species of it.

 _A dragon! And a young one at that!_ he gazed with wonderment. The last time he had seen one of his kind was over a decade ago.  
Extending his neck as far as he could, the dragon turned his head sideways so that only one of his eyes was looking at it. The young one was unconscious with bruises on its sides and legs that dented its scales inward. The rise and fall of its torso assured the dragon that it was still alive.

The drake blinked slowly, thinking. Then his mighty jaws closed carefully around the juvenile's body and lifted it up. The dragon then slowly turned around and made his way back through the forest.

* * *

The noise of crushing leaves echoed through the cave, awaking the young dragon. As she tried to keep her azure colored eyes open, the older drake to view her.  
"It is about time you awoke," he spoke, his deep and noble voice booming through the cavern. The dragon was kneading a mixture of clay and fronds in a large stone bowl.

Laying still, feeling the wounds on her body throbbing painfully, the young one remained silent. Instead she gazed at her new surroundings; gone where the thick trees and wet grass and what replaced it was a dark yet somehow cozy cavern.  
She then turned her attention to the adult. He was over twice her size, perhaps even twice her age; if he decides to attack, she will have to use every trick she knows to escape her captor.

Satisfied with the medicinal paste, the older drake held the edge of the bowl in his mouth and carried it to the younger one. She suddenly hissed and arched away from him, only stopping when the pain became too great.  
Placing the bowl on the ground, the dragon stated, "Do not move now. Your wounds are still healing." He thrust the object over to her. "Smear this onto the gashes and the pain will subside."

Still curling her upper lip, the dragoness hesitantly inched closer to the mixture. She gave it a quick sniff before lying next to it.  
"The sooner you use it the sooner you can leave," the great dragon said irritably. "I have no time to waste with juveniles like you."  
Narrowing her eyes, the young dragoness snapped back with a slightly screechy voice, "I've got places to be too, you know! It's not like I asked you to help me!"

The dragon snarled at her ungrateful remark, but his anger was replaced with curiosity when he sensed something familiar again. It was the same scent as before, but was now even stronger.  
"You fear me."  
All of her muscles seized up when she heard that sentence. Her smell had given away her emotions again, just like the time when she was hiding from the wyverns when she was only a hatchling. The same wrenched monsters that had killed her family over a territory dispute. They had found her because of her fear scent and had given chase. Only her quick thought of diving into a narrow crevice had saved her life.

She kneaded the ground beneath her clawed feet, not looking at the older drake, as she thought about of her past.  
"There is no reason to fear me," the drake explained with a shred of warmth in his tone. "I may sound callous but I would never turn my tail on one of my kind. Even if they decided to attack a bull elk on their own."  
She hesitated, tensing her muscles. "H-How did you know?"

"I was once a young one like you. I thought I could bring down one of them but instead I was bored with a nasty stab wound and a torn wing."  
"You're not like me. You don't know anything about me, and yet you still want to help me." She suddenly met his gaze aggressively. "Why?"  
Blinking slowly, the dragon went silent for a moment, allowing the din of the empty cavern to ring in her ears. Finally he said quietly, "You should get some rest before you go. As should I."

She watched him lift up his body with his thick legs and thudded over to a well-worn cave corner. The young dragoness sniffed and in the end curled up her body to rest as well.  
The great dragon scrutinized the young one as he maneuvered his body into a resting position. _She is a strong dragoness for sure_ , he mused to himself. _But I wonder where her parents are?_

* * *

 _  
_The two dragons were oblivious to the waning time outside the cave, but it was the youngest of the pair that awoke first. Carefully stretching each and every one of her legs, she slowly stood up and scanned the cavern; there were piles upon piles of gold coins and gems, arranged tastefully around the many stalagmites and stalactites.

It was then she happened to glance at a beautiful blue gem, sitting unguarded on a pedestal. Nearby the great dragon snored peacefully in his corner. She took another look at the drake, then quietly snuck closer to the prized jewel.  
 _This is so beautiful_ , the dragoness blinked as she rose to her hind quarters for a better view and resting her front legs on the pedestal. Almost as large as my head! It was mostly out of instinct; the dragoness had just begun to crave for a rare and glorious item for some months now and never seen such a precious one like this before.

It was also that same instinct that made her unconsciously grab the jewel in her mouth. She was surprised how much it weighed, at least twice as heavy as her own head, but that was all irreverent as the dragoness padded quietly to the cave's exit.  
The wind was whipping around her body as she stumbled out of the cavern. Opening her wings, the young dragon yelped from a sharp pain in one of her chest muscles. Nevertheless the dragoness readied her body for the excoriation and was about to jump when she heard a deep, vibrating growl behind her.

* * *

 _How dare she!_ steamed the great dragon as he caught sight of her trying to escape with his mother's gem. He had awoken a short time ago and had glimpsed the dragoness sneaking out of the cavern with something glistening in her mouth.  
"So this is how you treat your kind?!" the angry drake roared, stomping and snorting bursts of fire from his nose and mouth. "You take advantage of their kindness and then steal their prized possession?!"

The dragoness just lifted her upper lip in a snarl, clearly not showing any sort of regret in her actions. But before she could do anything else a strong gust of wing grabbed her wings and pushed her over the ledge. She tries to flip over to float down to the forest below but it was too late; the young dragon crashes into a shrubbery just below the trees.

Swooping down into the forest, the great dragon lands not far from the bush and discovers that his gem had rolled out of the shrubbery. Taking his precious jewel in his mouth, he hears the whimper cries of the young dragoness. The drake sees her stumble out of the bush, her right wing dragging limply on the ground.  
 _It is broken_ , the drake understood. _If it's not treated quickly the appendage will not heal correctly and it would be impossible for the young dragon to fly again._

She glances up at him with hurt eyes, but he narrows his in disgust. After all that he had done for her; tending to her wounds and allowing her to sleep in his cave. For her to steal one of his most prized possessions after helping her, it made his heart ache.  
 _This is such a terrible feeling…The same one I felt when my mother passed on._ The drake bared his sharp teeth at the young dragoness, which caused her to dart back into the bushes. _This will be the last time I will ever feel it._

Without another thought the dragon leaps up into the sky and heads back to his lonely cavern, tightly clutching his dead mother's treasure.


End file.
